The Deception Conundrum
by BuildingAnEmpire
Summary: Leonard does something Leonard would never do. Leonard/Penny/Priya


**Title:** The Deception Conundrum

**Characters/Pairings:** Leonard/Penny/Priya

**Rating:** Most likely M (R)

**Word Count:** 2042

**Spoilers:** Everything through Season 4. Just in case.

**Summary:** Leonard does something Leonard would never do.

**A/N: **Lyrics from ADELE's Rolling In The Deep. This might be a cheap shot. Sorry, I might hate Priya.

**There's a fire, starting in my heart. **

Penny flung her apartment door open just in time for her to see Leonard saying goodnight to Priya. His hands were on her arms, holding onto her as he kissed her. From their lack of interruption Penny realized she hadn't made quite enough noise for them to notice her. But she knew they would if she continued to stand in her doorway gawking at them all night. She grabbed the door knob and flung the door back the other way, causing it to slam, a lot harder than she had wanted. Penny winced. _Shit, now he's going to come over here_ _wondering what my problem is_.

Leonard jumped at the slam of the door, breaking the momentum of the kiss. He stepped away from Priya, feeling guilty and unsure as to why.

Priya looked at him confused. "I guess someone isn't happy?"

He could hear the distain in her voice. "No, I guess not." Leonard shrugged. "Well, you were leaving anyway so..." He wasn't really sure where he was going with that.

Priya raised her eyebrow. "Yeah, so..." She too trailed off. He couldn't think of anything to say either. "Well, I'm going to head back to Raj's place. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Leonard was relieved she didn't make him explain his sudden lack of interest. "Okay, yeah. I'll call you."

He watched Priya walk down the first flight of stairs before he was bridging the gap between 4A and 4B. He banged, louder than he had intended, on her door.

Penny had been standing on the other side of her door the entire time. _Shit_. She looked down at herself before deciding to pull her sweater off, leaving only the small tank top she had worn underneath. She was hot. _Right, keep telling yourself that._ Penny grabbed the doorknob and opened it. Leonard already looked irate.

"Yes?" _Okay, maybe that wasn't the best way to start. _Penny offered a smile in his direction.

"Seriously?" Leonard snapped at her. _What else was there to say?_

"What?" She was starting to get annoyed. _Justifiably? No_.

"Really? All you have to say is what?" Leonard slammed her door behind him, coming closer to her.

"I don't know what you're talking about Leonard." Penny crossed her arms under her chest.

Her breasts were beautiful. _No, now is not the time, Leonard_. _You're mad_. "You totally know what I'm talking about, Penny." His was so mad he was starting to sweat.

Penny shrugged. She could tell he was livid with her.

"Who slams a door when they see two people kissing? Other than someone who doesn't want the kissing to continue, obviously." _There, it was out on the table._

"Obviously." Penny glared at him.

"What is your problem Penny?" She was clearly egging him on.

"I do not have a problem, Leonard. You, on the other hand, clearly do or you wouldn't be in my apartment yelling at me right now." She wasn't going to back down. Even if she didn't feel justified in continuing this.

"I'm just going to put this out there Penny because I've honestly had enough. You can't just decide you don't want me anymore _and_ decide that no one else can have me either. It doesn't work like that. Maybe you never thought that I could ever get another girl as pretty as you. And maybe...it's irrelevant whether I have or not. But I _have_ found someone who _does_ like me. Unlike you. So you can just continue to date nameless losers like you always have." Leonard spat at her. _Okay, maybe he went too far_.

Penny balked at him. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. I mean, how many meaningless 36 hour sex binges have you gone on since our break up? Do you even know _any _of their names?" _Shit, okay, that was definitely way too far._

Penny couldn't tell if she was going to cry or scream. "Go to hell."

"I'm already there." He wasn't sure what possessed him to say that, but he did. The look on her face terrified him. _Just walk out, there is nothing you can say to fix this._ Leonard turned on his heel and exited into the hallway, slamming the door behind him. He didn't bother to look behind him at all on his way back to his apartment. He couldn't feel anything. _This is what an out of body experience feels like._ _My mother will be proud_. His heart was beating so fast that's all he could hear as he opened his door and slammed it behind him.

**The scars of your love, they leave me breathless.**

Sheldon turned in his computer chair. "What is _with_ all of the door slamming? I never..."

"Shut up Sheldon." Leonard cut him off, making a bee-line to his room. He flung himself on the bed after slamming his door closed and locking it. He knew he had messed up, big time. But all he could think of was Penny in that tank top, those short shorts, and that angry look on her face. _God, she was beautiful, even mad_. And what was he really mad about anyway? That she had slammed her own apartment door? Or that she had the audacity to act like she didn't know what he was talking about? She completely infuriated him.

"Where the hell is he?" Penny stormed into 4A after she gathered herself long enough to comprehend what had just happened.

Sheldon whirled around in his chair and sighed before standing up and heading toward Leonard's room. "You know, you should keep these little tiffs in your own apartment. Not everyone wishes to hear your unimportant arguments."

"Shut up Sheldon." Penny snapped.

"Geez. Just making a suggestion." He grabbed Leonard's door handle, realized it was locked, and started knocking. "Leonard?"

"What Sheldon?" Leonard yelled from the other side of the door.

"Come out here please." Sheldon asked.

"If I don't will you leave me alone or will you continue to knock on my door?" Leonard rolled his eyes and, already knowing the answer, lifted himself from the bed.

"The later." Sheldon said matter-of-factly, glancing sideways at Penny who was still fuming next to him.

Leonard swung the door open. "What do you...Oh, go away." He directed the last part at Penny.

He tried to shut the door again but Sheldon put his foot in the way. "Whatever you two are arguing about, fix it. I'll be at the comic book shop so you can come down and buy me something when you're finished." Sheldon nodded at both of them before heading back down the hallway and, after gathering his things, out the front door.

"Whatever Sheldon." Leonard called after him before turning to Penny. "What the hell do you want?"

"You don't get to tell me what to do with my life. I will sleep with whomever I want, whenever I want, however I want." Penny stepped forward, toward Leonard, nearly knocking into him.

"Well, that's quite obvious." Leonard didn't want to go there but she was pissing him off.

The fire in her eyes could have burned down the whole apartment building. "You know what Leonard? You act all high and mighty, but you're not. You're a coward. It took you like two years to even ask me out on a real date. Then when you came back from the Arctic, _I_ had to make the first move. When I didn't tell you I loved you back right away, you acted like a child. And now, you'd rather just pretend like we don't hang out just so you don't have to tell Priya that you still love me."

_Okay, so she had a point._ But he would never let her know that. "Who said I still love you?" Leonard was now in her face, challenging her.

Penny didn't back down. She knew he did. He knew he did. He would just never admit it without her saying those words back to him.

**You had my heart inside of your hand**

**And you played it to the beat**

His heart was pounding so loud, he wasn't sure who made the first move but before he knew what was happening he was slamming her against his bedroom door. His lips covered hers and he immediately felt right again.

Penny gasped as her back hit and closed her eyes once his lips were on top of hers. _Is this really happening? _She couldn't think of anything but his hands running up and down her sides and his lips attacking hers. It was hungry. Not soft and sweet like when they were dating. She longed to see this side of him when they were together but it never happened, no matter how many hints she dropped.

_This is so wrong_. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, dueling with her own. His fingers hooked into her shorts before yanking them down without breaking the kiss. _She's not wearing underwear. Damnit. _He could feel her shiver against him and his body ached for her. He wasn't sure what possessed him, but it was happening and he couldn't stop it.

Penny threaded her hands up his shirt, feeling his skin and breaking the kiss only moments to pull his shirt over his head and throw it behind him. He still smelled the same. She closed her eyes as he moved his kissing to her neck, simultaneously taking his glasses off. _Smooth_. She felt like he was better at this than the last time. Her stomach sank. _This is so wrong_. She didn't want to be 'the other woman' but he was kissing her collarbone and she couldn't think of anything other than him being inside of her. He must have read her mind because before she knew it he was pushing her back down onto the bed.

He watched her pull the tank top over her head as he stood taking his pants and boxers off as quickly as he could. Leonard looked at her, splayed across his bed, her blonde hair a tangled mess, and she was more beautiful than ever. In one movement he climbed on top of her and entered her. _God, this was so right_.

As he entered her Penny arched her back, pulling him closer. His pace was suddenly rough and deliberate. Not slow and easy like it had always been. Her heels hooked around him and pushed him more into her, her hands gripping at his hips to hold on. He was staring directly into her eyes. _God, this was so right_.

They could feel the tension building, quickly. He knew it would be soon but he didn't want to, couldn't, slow down. She tried to tell him it was okay to let go with her eyes, she wouldn't be able to last much longer either. "God, I love you." _Did she really just say that out loud? _He could feel her and he held on, letting go inside of her, watching her face the entire time, unsure whether or not he actually heard her say that. The stars she was seeing were most definitely imaginary, but the feeling most definitely wasn't. She gasped to catch her breath, waiting for him to climb off of her. But he didn't, he simply put his head down and kissed her neck, breathing heavily. She closed her eyes.

Finally he rolled off of her, begrudgingly. Leonard turned to face Penny. Her face was flushed and he nearly felt bad for being so rough until she smiled at him. And just like that his phone was ringing. The sound brought him crashing back into reality. He fumbled to grab it, trying to slow his breathing and put his glasses back on at the same time. "Hello?"

A wave of grief came over him, his stomach immediately began knotting. "Priya!" Leonard glanced toward Penny who was now sitting up, her face pale. He wasn't sure what Priya was saying, all he could do was watch Penny pull her clothes back on. She took one last look at him before opening his bedroom door. Leonard pulled a sheet over him and watched her close the door behind her, feeling lost already.

**We could have had it all**


End file.
